


Park Benches

by threerainydays



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Older Woman/Younger Man, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-03-20 03:11:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3634428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threerainydays/pseuds/threerainydays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Park benches were the perfect place to meet beautiful girls. That’s what Inigo decided as he saw such a girl seated upon the bench before him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Park Benches

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a real-life conversation a friend had with a little boy on a bench. Inigo just so happened to fit the role perfectly.

Park benches were the perfect place to meet beautiful girls. That’s what Inigo decided as he saw such a girl seated upon the bench before him. This park bench was perfectly ordinary of course, but this was no ordinary girl. Sure, he hadn’t planned on passing this way (in truth, he was in the midst of a daring escape from his mother), but it seemed that fortune smiled upon him today. He hastily smoothed back his hair and checked his appearance in a puddle before making his approach.

Robin felt the bench shift a little beneath her. Through her peripheral vision she could make out the figure of a little boy hopping up to sit on the other end. His pale, white hair ruffled slightly as he comfortably seated himself. He couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old, and looked especially adorable trying to brush his bangs out of his eyes. She returned to her book and would have kept reading had she not heard a quiet, “Pssst.” Securing her place with a bookmark, she closed the novel and looked up questioningly.

Inigo smiled in what he hoped was a charming manner. “Helloooooo,” he said as he slid halfway across the bench.

She laughed a little. To himself, he thought, “Nailed it.” With a polite smile, she said, “Hello there.”

He practically beamed. “You’re pretty,” he said. He placed his hand on top of hers, much to her surprise. Still smiling, he added, “I like that.”

She stared at him, speechless. A little boy was hitting on her. She would have laughed again if he didn’t look so innocently serious.

Just as she was wondering how to respond, a woman with pink hair came running up to them. “Inigo, there you are! You can’t just run away from mommy,” she said. His mother noticed Robin and seemed to take in the situation with Inigo sitting especially close to her. She bowed apologetically and said, “I’m sorry he bothered you, my son is…”

She glanced at him, and seemed to be at a loss for how to explain his behavior. Robin sympathized. “Well, never mind. Excuse me.” Turning back to Inigo, she said, “Leave the poor girl alone, it’s time to go.”

Inigo shook his head. With a bright smile, he said, “No Mommy, this is my new girlfriend!”

Inigo swung his feet from atop the bench, grinning happily at Robin in a lovesick sort of way. Robin shared a stunned look of bewilderment with the boy’s mother, who sighed like she was used to dealing with this sort of thing. His mother took his hand and started to pull him away from the bench in a gentle but firm manner. “Well, say goodbye to your girlfriend, we have to go home.”

Inigo looked over his shoulder and reached out his hand in a gesture of farewell. “I will find you again, my love!”

His mother smiled a little as Robin half-waved back in amusement. She opened her book again, allowing a small chuckle to escape.


	2. Shopping Malls

Shopping malls were another perfect place to meet beautiful girls. That’s what Inigo decided as he saw the same girl he’d met in the park last time. He was at the supermarket with his mother when he noticed her out of the corner of his eye. She wore the same black and purple hoodie from before, and it was this that allowed Inigo to identify her almost immediately upon sight. She was even more stunning than he remembered. Her white hair swayed gently as she walked, her eyes set in a look of concentration as she examined the products on display.

This was another purely coincidental chance encounter, but he was convinced that it was the work of fate. After they were forced to part ways two weeks ago, he’d eagerly awaited the moment when their paths would cross again. This was no ordinary meeting. Something much larger was at play here. Destiny.

His mother was inspecting the apples in the fresh fruit section of the supermarket while he dutifully followed behind. While she was preoccupied with grocery shopping, he saw his chance to escape (yet again). And so he left his mother’s side and skipped down the aisle toward the love of his life.

Robin was in the middle of browsing the produce aisle, her thoughts completely focused on what to cook for dinner. The tomatoes were on sale for the weekend, and she saw a few good-looking ones near the bottom of the pile. Never just take from the top, she had learned. Check underneath and behind the ones in front, because that’s where the hidden gems are. She ran her hand over the fruits, checking for blemishes and weighing them experimentally in the palm of her hand. She had decided on three of them when she caught sight of something interesting in the meat section.

“Special item: bear meat?” She read the label out loud. “You don’t see that every day.”

She was about to walk away, but curiosity got the better of her and she took one of the bear meat packages for her basket. Just as she was about to go pay, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. When she turned around, there was no one there. Robin was ready to excuse it as her imagination, but then she heard someone clear their throat. She looked down and saw a little boy.

Correction: the little boy. The same little boy that she’d encountered in the park a few weeks ago. His arm was still outstretched from reaching up to touch her shoulder, and he grinned sheepishly as he lowered it to wave hello.

“Hello,” he said. “How are you today?”

“I’m doing alright,” she said with a smile. “Didn’t I meet you before?”

He nodded eagerly. She remembered! This was definitely a good sign. “Yup! At the park,” he said.

“I haven’t forgotten,” she said. The events of last time flashed through her mind, including everything from his attempt to hit on her, his mother coming to get him, and him calling her his girlfriend all in less than five minutes. In short, this little boy had made quite the impression and Robin had hardly forgotten that memorable experience. “You never told me your name.”

“Inigo,” he answered with a wink. “What’s yours?”

“Robin,” she said. She glanced up and down the aisle, but they were the only ones there. “Is your mother here, Inigo?”

He smiled in a mischievous way that made Robin chuckle, at which she mentally reprimanded herself. This was serious, she told herself, and she couldn’t just let him wander around when his mother was probably looking for him. Still, she thought, when he was so obviously unconcerned and happy, she doubted it would hurt if she talked to him for a little longer. And as she clearly recalled, it seemed like his mother was, unfortunately, more than used to his antics.

“She’s here. I was helping her shop,” he said in a conversational way. He half-stepped, half-slid across the tile floor to get closer to her. In a soft voice, as if he was sharing a secret, he said, “But I’d much rather talk to you.”

He did all this so casually, and for perhaps the hundredth time, Robin wondered how a child so young learned these types of things. Kids were growing up way too fast these days. “That’s sweet of you,” she said. “Although I think maybe you should get back before she notices you’re gone. She must be worried –”

“Inigo!”

Before she could finish that statement, Inigo’s mother rounded the corner and called his name. They both froze and turned to look at her as if in slow-motion. His mother made eye contact with him from all the way on the other side of the aisle. Upon seeing her son, she hurried towards them, shopping basket swinging from her arm.

“There you are,” she said, placing her hand firmly on his shoulder to keep him from going anywhere. “Honestly, you really can’t be running away like this all the time, you’re too old for this sort of thing.” She let out a long breath, closing her eyes momentarily. More quietly, she muttered, “I’m too old for this sort of thing.”

“I think you’re still young and beautiful,” Inigo piped up.

His mother let out a half-chuckle, but looked at him in a stern way that told him to save the flattery. She noticed Robin and seemed to recognize her as the same girl from last time. She bowed apologetically and said, “I’m sorry this happened again. You must think I’m such a bad mother.”

“Not at all,” Robin said immediately. “I’m actually impressed with how quickly you’re able to track him down every time.”

Inigo’s mother laughed a little, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “Well, I’ve had to learn fast with a son like him,” she said. “Thank you for making sure he didn’t get himself into trouble.”

“I’m still here,” Inigo said loudly.

“Yes, I know,” his mother said as she ran a hand through his hair affectionately. Turning her attention back to Robin, she said, “Anyway, thank you. I’ve met you twice now, and it would be rude at this point not to introduce myself. I’m Olivia.”

“I’m Robin,” she said and extended her hand to shake Olivia’s. “And really, I didn’t do much other than talk to him.”

“Still, you kept him occupied,” she insisted. She glanced down at Inigo, who had been beaming up at Robin for most of the conversation. “I can see he likes you a lot.”

Robin laughed. “Yes, he’s quite the charmer. Has he always been so…?”

“He’s actually quite a shy boy,” Olivia explained. “He was so timid when he started school, too. I felt partly responsible because I’m just as shy as he is. I thought maybe if he learned to talk to girls he’d be able to interact with the other children better. But then he took it to an extreme and now, well, I sort of regret encouraging it in hindsight. I never stop worrying about the trouble and confusion he must be causing by being so flirtatious. But I suppose the bright side is that at least he’s more social now.”

“I see,” Robin said. “That explains a lot.”

Inigo hadn’t really been listening to the conversation. He knew they were talking about him, but all he cared about was that he’d have to say goodbye to Robin soon. What if destiny wasn’t so kind to him after this and he never got to see his beloved again? Sure, he’d found her this time, but what if that was just luck? What about next time? What is there wasn’t a next time? As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he realized he had to do something to prevent that horrible scenario from playing out. It was now or never, and he wasn’t going to let Robin go so easily.

“Will I see you again?” Inigo asked suddenly.

Robin considered it seriously for a moment. It was plain to see how much Inigo liked her. In fact, it was almost scary how much he worshipped her, but she knew his intentions were innocent. Looking at the hopefulness in his eyes, she slowly felt her hesitation melting away. Especially after what his mother had said, Robin felt herself becoming attached to him.

Her next words were the greatest Inigo ever heard in his life up until that point. “Why not?” She smiled at him and he felt as if he could fly. That was all he needed to hear. Her confirmation of a next time held so much promise for the future. After all, why not? The sky was the limit!

Robin looked to Inigo’s mother. “If that’s alright with you,” she said.

“Of course,” Olivia said. Glancing down at her son, she saw the adoration in his eyes as he looked at Robin. With a small smile, she said, “In fact, I think I’ve got the perfect solution.”


	3. Date Nights

As it turned out, Inigo’s parents had been looking for a babysitter and Robin was more than perfect for the job. She had been planning on looking for another part time job to earn some extra cash anyway, and babysitting turned out to be a well-paying option. The deal was sealed, and before Inigo had time to start missing her, Robin was regularly visiting his house on the first Saturday of every month.

While his parents went out on dates, Inigo got to experience a date of his own with Robin. In truth, he stayed at home and she came over to watch him for a few hours, but he thought that anything was a date as long as he was with her. On this occasion, he chose to wait patiently in the living room as she waved his parents off at the front door.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” Olivia said for the hundredth time. She strapped on her sandals while holding onto her husband’s shoulder for balance. “Are you sure we’re paying you enough? Because I really think we should be paying you more for all the help you’re doing.”

“Not at all, I’m grateful for how much you’re giving me as is. And it’s really no trouble to watch Inigo, he’s always so well-behaved,” Robin said. She could imagine his face lighting up at the compliment, and she smiled at the thought.

“Thank you,” Olivia said again. “We’ll definitely be back before ten.”

“Mhm,” Inigo’s father said with a nod. He was an interesting character in Robin’s opinion. Henry was of average height, a little on the slim side, and was obviously whom Inigo had inherited his white hair from. He had a perpetual smile on his face which was, oddly enough, a little unnerving at first until Robin had realized that a smile was his default expression. She had never seen him with his eyes open, but that didn’t seem to inhibit his sight in any obvious way.

He grinned. “So, good luck to you Robin! Don’t burn the house down,” he added.

Robin laughed good-naturedly, although she wasn’t sure whether or not Henry was joking about that last part. So she went with the safe response, “I promise I won’t.” She waved goodbye as their car left the driveway, stepping back inside the house and closing the door after they were out of sight.

This was the third time she’d watched Inigo, and the two had already established something of a routine for her visits. Robin would arrive five minutes early because she always emphasized punctuality, and Inigo would rush to greet her at the entrance. He liked to make a big show of holding open the door for her like a gentleman and she would smile and thank him graciously. His parents would hug him in turn and tell him to be good before leaving as Robin waved them off.

And so she would be left alone with Inigo, a fact which the latter was overjoyed about. From that point on there was a lot of flexibility about how the next few hours would be spent. They would eat dinner at some point and Inigo was supposed to take a bath before bed, but there was always a lot of extra time left over. Sometimes they would play video games, other times Robin would help Inigo with his homework.

Their relationship was light-hearted and easy-going, much to Robin’s relief. At first, she was careful about how she interacted with Inigo, in part because of his obvious crush on her, and also because she wasn’t sure how to bridge the gap between her roles as peer and adult figure. She started out cautiously, thinking carefully on what she would say to him before she actually said it. But it soon became clear to her that none of this was necessary. All Inigo wanted was a friend, and once she figured this out, Robin was able to talk with him much more easily.

She was never quite sure when he stopped being so overtly flirtatious, but Robin more than welcomed the change. It was cute when he would sometimes revert to using cheesy lines and excessive winking, although she was more than happy that they had moved past that. She could tell that he still liked her, and it was difficult to think about how long his crush on her would last. For the moment though, she decided that it was harmless enough and he really did enjoy her company.

Today, Robin had suggested that they play board games together, and Inigo was more than happy to oblige. They played through the classics, including Life, Monopoly, and Candy Land. Inigo was, surprisingly, a good sport about winning and losing. Although he was still young and carefree, he possessed a certain maturity that extended beyond his years. It was because of this that Robin offered to play chess with him.

“Have you ever played chess before, Inigo?” She asked.

He shook his head. “No, only checkers. Is it like that?”

“They use the same board and both involve eating other pieces,” she offered. “But chess is much more complex than checkers.”

He hummed to show he was listening. “How?”

Robin took out the chess set and began to position the pieces. “Well, each of the pieces moves in a special way,” she said. “The main objective is to capture this one here, which is called the king.”

She glanced up and saw a spark of curiosity in his eyes. “Interested?”

And so she spent the next few minutes explaining the rules to him, playing out sample scenarios to demonstrate. Inigo watched all of this attentively, much to Robin’s delight. Eventually she said, “Ready to try it?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I want the black pieces.”

She went easy on him so he could get a feel for the rules. He was attentive to detail and spent a lot of time thinking about which move was best. He would often frown and tilt his head to the side whenever she would make a particularly tricky move. Robin was more than willing to re-explain the mechanics when he asked a few times, and Inigo quickly picked things up. By the second game, he had memorized the movement patterns of each of the pieces and was playing much more skillfully than the first time around.

Inigo said very little during the first game, and Robin settled for the silence. She watched as he thought quietly to himself, impressed with how seriously he took to learning chess. By the second game, however, he seemed much more open to talking now that he’d gotten the hang of it. He happily chattered away, commenting on both the game and other things. Then he started asking her questions, about life, her hobbies, everything and anything he could think of. Robin responded in kind, asking Inigo what he thought of school and what he liked to do on the weekends.

Before she knew it, two hours had passed, they’d played through three games, and it was time to put the pieces away.

“You’re so good at this, Robin,” Inigo said, a hint of wistfulness in his tone as they folded up the chessboard. “I wish I was that good.”

“All things come with practice,” she said kindly. “If you’d like, we could play a game or two every once in a while. I can already see that you’re a quick learner.”

He nodded with enthusiasm. “Yeah, definitely! I like talking with you. And I want to be able to win against you someday.”

“I’m sure you’ll surprise me,” she said thoughtfully. With a wink she said, “Should I tell you now that I took it easy on you?”

He pouted. “So you’re even better than this?”

She laughed a little at the way he scrunched up his eyebrows. “I promise you’ll get better, Inigo. In fact, you should try and play with other people, too. Seeing other people’s playing styles is a great way to improve.”

“Is that what you did?” He asked. “Did somebody teach you chess, too?”

“Someone taught me, yes,” she said. “And after that I learned more on my own.”

“Do you really like chess, Robin?” He asked.

She smiled and nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “I do.”

She was beautiful, of that there was no doubt. But she was incredibly smart too, as Inigo was quickly finding out. He liked that about her, he realized. Because being with Robin was never boring and she always had something interesting to say. She really was wonderful in a lot of ways. Inigo wanted to become someone capable of matching her move for move in chess, because it was clear by the smile on her face that this was one of her favorite pastimes.

Robin glanced outside, then at the clock. Inigo followed her gaze and sighed at what he saw. The sun had set long ago, and it was almost 10. He knew what that meant. “You have to go soon, huh?”

“That’s right,” she said, and a trace of regret laced her words. But she smiled like they were sharing a secret and said, “But I think we have time for one more game of chess, don’t you?”

He grinned in response. Maybe he didn’t have to say goodbye to Robin just yet.


	4. Saying Goodbye

“You’re going to college?”

For the past year or so, Robin had been a constant in Inigo’s life. Every month, he looked forward to the day when he would get to see her for a few short hours. She and his parents had even made arrangements for her to come over for dinner once in a while, and things had never been better for Inigo. Then his world came crashing down around him when she announced that she would be leaving for this thing called college. All the fears he’d had in the grocery store so long ago were becoming real fears once again as he suddenly realized he wouldn’t get to see Robin anymore.

She nodded in confirmation. “That’s right. I’ll be graduating from high school in May and I’ll be leaving for college at the end of August.”

He was so shocked that he jumped up out of his seat. The chair legs made a loud scraping noise against the tile floor, but he hardly noticed. “Why so soon!” He shouted.

At the end of August! That was practically tomorrow! Upon checking the calendar, he remembered it was only April, but still! August would happen before he knew it and then he’d be forced to part from the woman he loved! Again! There wouldn’t be a next time!

“I’m not leaving just yet,” she tried to reassure him, but Inigo was still very visibly agitated, if the anguished look on his face was any indication. “And it’s not like I’m leaving forever.”

“You’re not?” He asked, desperately latching on to that promise. He grasped her hands in his, a plea in his voice as he said, “You’ll come back to me?”

“I still live here,” she pointed out. “So I’ll come home in the summer and winter. And I can still see you sometimes because the school is less than half an hour away by car.”

“Ah…” he said, slumping back down onto the chair in relief. “That’s good. So you’re not leaving forever?”

“Of course not,” she said, and those words were music to his ears. Robin had predicted that Inigo would be a little upset when she told him the news, but she didn’t think he would be so obviously unhappy. Nevertheless, she was touched that he cared, and she decided that gentle affirmations were what he needed to hear.

“When you said you were leaving, I was afraid it was because you didn’t like me anymore,” he said in a voice so serious Robin reached out to pat him soothingly on the shoulder. “I guess that was silly of me,” he added with a small laugh.

“I promise I’m not leaving forever,” she repeated, glad that he was feeling calmer now. “And we still have lots of time to play together before I go to college, okay?”

In a more cheerful voice now that the worst was over, he said, “And we’re still friends, right?”

“Right,” she said with a smile.

“And you’re still my girlfriend, right?”

“Maybe hold off on that one,” she said.

“So then later? When I’m older?” He asked eagerly.

“We’ll see,” she dodged the question with expertise.

“So, college,” he said, switching gears in that way only young children were capable of. “What’s it like?”

She thought about his question for a minute. “I guess the easiest way to describe it would be like this – you pay money to attend school for four more years. I’ll live on campus and take classes for credit in order to get a degree when I graduate. College is supposed to further your education and prepare you for a job in the real world. Make sense?”

He considered this. “Why would you want to go to more school if you don’t have to?” He asked. Inigo was in the fifth grade and genuinely enjoyed going to school, but he still could hardly imagine wanting to go to even more school than was required. Twelve grades plus kindergarten, that was what he had to look forward to, and he was barely halfway done. Another four years was crazy talk.

She laughed. “I wouldn’t if I didn’t think it would help me,” she said with a smile. “After school, you get a job, right? Hopefully if I get more schooling, my chances of being hired and getting a good job will be better.”

“I see,” he said. “So it’s like job training?”

“Not quite,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll learn work and life skills that help me in my future career. But of course that’s not the only reason I’m going. I think there’s always more to learn in life, and college is one way I can continue to learn things.”

“I guess I’ll go to college too,” he grudgingly admitted. “I’ll probably need it.”

“I’ll let you know what it’s like as soon as I get there,” she promised. “But for now, how are you doing? How’s school? Is dance class alright?”

“School’s okay. And I really enjoy dance,” he said. He looked at her and smiled shyly. “Thanks for telling me to go.”

Inigo still remembered the time that Robin had discovered his passion for dancing. She had gotten up to take a phone call and he decided that he would just dance for two minutes while she was gone. He ended up getting so caught up in it that he didn’t realize five minutes had passed until it was too late and she was back and he knew by the look on her face that she had seen the whole thing.

As soon as he’d realized he had an audience, Inigo froze, looking like the classic deer in the headlights. For the first time, Robin understood what Olivia had meant about Inigo being shy. He had blushed down to his toes, truly the spitting image of his mother when she got embarrassed, and immediately tried to cover up the fact that he had been dancing. Robin handled the situation with astonishing skill and tact.

“And my foot fell asleep, so I was trying to make it wake up again,” he babbled. “Jumping helps, and if I wave my arms around somehow I feel it in my feet too, and –”

“I thought your dancing was wonderful, Inigo.”

That shut him up. Robin thought it was incredibly cute how he turned his chin down and blushed even more. In a quiet voice, he said, “You really think so?”

“I really enjoyed it,” she said. “I never knew you liked to dance so much.”

“It’s embarrassing to show other people,” he said. Fiddling with the ends of his shirt, he added in a quiet voice, “They’d laugh at me.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” she said gently. “And if you love it, don’t worry what other people say. Although I doubt they would laugh if they saw how good you are.” In a carefully neutral tone, she asked, “Do your parents know you like to dance?”

“No. Well, kind of,” he amended. “My mom dances, and I think my dad suspects that I like to, too. But he’s never mentioned it to her, so…”

Robin understood. Henry was more observant than she gave him credit for. Clearly, he knew his wife and son were shyest when it came to their dancing, and so he hadn’t talked about it in an effort to spare Inigo’s feelings. Still, she decided that even if it was bold of her to mention it, it didn’t feel right to let Inigo’s obvious love for dancing go unnoticed.

“I have an idea,” she said. “Just hear me out on this one, okay?”

So he listened to her suggestion, and at first he was hesitant about it. If it had been anyone other than Robin, he probably would have refused on the spot. But she was persistent and gentle and eventually he gave her permission to talk to his parents about signing him up for dance lessons. That was two months ago, and now he was proudly dancing for all to see (or at least, for his dance class to see).

His attention returned to the fact that Robin was going to college, and he sighed. “So you’re really going, huh?”

“I’m not going off to war, you know,” she said. “I’ll still be around.”

“But you won’t have time to come and play. Maybe you can skip school to come see me?” He said in a hopeful tone.

Robin laughed, but not unkindly. “We’ll see,” she said again. “I don’t think my teachers would appreciate that.”

“Yeah,” he said, still reluctant to part with her. He moved to give her a hug, which Robin welcomed. “Have fun, okay?”

He felt her nod. Inigo had heard that old saying a hundred times, but he felt like he finally understood its meaning better now. If he loved Robin, then he had to let her go.


	5. Childhood Memories

_If he loved Robin, then he had to let her go._

…Well, maybe not. Even though she was in college and a lot busier than before, Robin had free time on the weekends and she still needed a job. Inigo was pleasantly surprised (more like ecstatic) when his parents announced that Robin would still be a part of his life, although he did feel a little cheated about getting all worked up over a goodbye that never happened. But in the end, Robin was back and that was all that mattered.

Inigo was in middle school now, and out of respect for his wishes, Robin’s title had been changed from “babysitter” to “tutor.” Her job hadn’t changed at all, although now her official role was to help Inigo with his schoolwork. He was actually a hardworking student, and Robin often felt like she was more of a homework supervisor than anything else.

For the most part, their routine stayed the same and nothing changed. It had been almost four years now since he’d met Robin and Inigo was sure that she knew more about him than anyone aside from his parents. Over time somehow, they had gotten to know each other more and more until suddenly he realized that she understood him in ways no one else did or probably ever would.

In contrast, he wondered how much he knew about Robin. There were so many things about her that were still a mystery to him, and no sooner had this thought crossed his mind did Inigo decide that he wanted to find out the answers to those hidden questions.

“Robin?” He said.

She looked up from the book she was reading. “What’s up? Need help?”

He put down his pencil, a grin on his face. “Do you wanna play a game of chess with me?”

She put on a stern expression. “Are you done with all your homework?”

He held up his finished essay outline and completed math worksheet. “Yup.”

She nodded, her expression changing to a more relaxed one. “Good enough for me. Let’s go set up the board,” she said. Shaking her head, she added, “Honestly, I’m not cut out to be an educator. At least not for young children. I don’t think I have it in me to discipline anybody.”

“But you’re nice,” he said as he closed his notebook and filed away the papers in his backpack. “And everybody likes a nice teacher. At least, I do.”

She laughed. “Thanks. I suppose that counts for something, doesn’t it?”

They moved to the living room and took out the chess set. It had been pristine and new the first time Robin taught Inigo how to play, but now it looked much more like any of the other old game sets he owned. The fold in the board was flimsy with a defined crease down the center and the pieces themselves felt less sharp than they had four years ago. The edges had softened and showed obvious wear from frequent use (one of the rooks still had a light blue stain on its side from a painting mishap two years prior). To anyone else, the game set was past its prime and ready to be replaced. But to Inigo, this particular set was special because it was the one he and Robin always played with.

The game was set, and their first moves were made with practiced ease. After a few minutes, Robin asked, “So what did you want to talk about?”

Over the years, it had become routine for the two of them to play a game of chess while having a conversation. Inigo was glad they could share easy moments together that way, and he often felt like he could tell Robin anything. With just the slightest bit of hesitation in his voice, he said, “I want to know more about you.”

Robin looked up in surprise. “Where’d that come from?”

A blush colored his cheeks pink as he stared intently at the board. “I dunno. I just was thinking that you know so much about me but I don’t know that much about you. And I want to know more, because you’re really important to me.”

She smiled. His honesty really was endearing at times. “But you do know a lot about me,” she replied. When he looked perplexed, she said, “You probably know more than you think you do.”

He nodded a little. “I guess so. But I’ve still got questions!”

“Fire away,” she said as she casually moved her bishop to take his pawn.

What to ask first? The possibilities seemed endless. What’s your favorite color? He suspected purple, so maybe that was too straightforward. What do you like to do on the weekends? No, too generic. If you were given a chance for eternal life, would you take it? He paused at that one. It was an interesting question, for sure, but he knew she would probably answer no. He could already imagine her response: “Life is made valuable because our time is limited,” or something wise like that. He often thought that Robin seemed to have all the answers.

He lay back on the carpet and let out a sigh. He stared up at the ceiling, a slight frown on his face. There were just too many questions to ask. Might as well start at the beginning, then. He sat up and saw Robin stifling a laugh.

“Thought of a good one?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “What was your childhood like?”

The words were familiar and rehearsed as she said, “I grew up in an orphanage.”

“Oh…” he said. All that planning and he asked the worst question possible. “I’m sorry, this was a bad question, I’ll ask something else –”

“It’s alright, Inigo,” she said. “It wasn’t a terrible place to grow up, even if I did often think that having my parents around would’ve been better. I had some friends and I went to school like a normal kid.”

“So you never knew them? Your parents, I mean,” he said.

“I met my father once,” she said, and Inigo saw the way her expression darkened. “I had been told that my mother was sickly and died a year after I was born. My father apparently had no desire to raise a child, especially because he and my mother weren’t married. He refused to accept legal custody of me and I ended up in the orphanage. When I was old enough, I was allowed to contact him and a meeting was arranged.

“I only met with him for fifteen minutes,” she said, and her voice faltered a little. “I don’t know what I expected to gain by seeing him. After a few minutes of conversation, I realized that I didn’t know him and I didn’t want to know him. He was my biological father, but that was all. We had nothing in common and I wasn’t required to make him a part of my life.”

“I… I’m sorry,” Inigo said softly. “I guess I take it for granted that I have both my parents and that they care about me so much.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said. “I didn’t grow up with much, but I still think I had a relatively happy childhood.”

“Is that why you’re going to college?” He asked, suddenly putting two and two together. “So you can be independent now that you’re older?”

“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “I was working part time all through high school to try and put together enough money to go to college. I managed to get a few scholarships, and I’m on track to graduate at the end of four years so I can start working after school.”

“Wow,” was all he could say. “That sounds really tough.”

The words felt fake, and he wished he could say something more supportive and encouraging. “Good luck” sounded too indifferent, like it wasn’t his problem. “Let me know if I can help” seemed pointless because there really wasn’t anything he could do to help. He’d already said “I’m sorry,” even though there wasn’t anything he had to apologize for, but he wasn’t sure what else to say to show he sympathized. But Robin smiled at him anyway, and he hoped that she understood his meaning even though the words were lacking.

“I do the best that I can. And besides, I really can’t complain when I’ve got friends that care about me,” she said. With a genuine smile, she said, “Like you.”

Inigo felt his heart flutter. “I care a lot,” he said. “And… I’m here for you.”

Robin was more than touched by his sincerity. It was easy to forget how young Inigo was when he said things like that with the maturity and sensitivity of someone beyond his years. Their friendship might have seemed strange to an outsider, but she was more than grateful that they had grown so close over the years.

“Thank you,” she said. “That really means a lot to me.”

“And, well, I just wanted you to know that I hope you’ll still have time to come see me even after you start working,” he said. “I don’t want us to lose touch because… I really like spending time with you.”

She smiled at him and nodded. “Me too.”

The game was almost over, but neither paid much attention to it. The present moment was so much more important.


	6. The Changing Seasons

Several seasons passed until Robin was 21 and graduating from college. Up until then, she had continued to visit Inigo for more homework sessions, and for a while things remained the same. But now that he was entering high school and she was scheduled to start working full-time, it seemed like the babysitting/tutoring arrangement Robin had set up with his mother so many years ago was coming to an end.

Inigo didn’t feel like this was goodbye, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that things were going to be different. The changes leading up to this moment had happened slowly – she took time off to study for finals, he started hanging out with his friends after school, and in-between all the other responsibilities they had, Inigo saw Robin less and less. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it all.

Even though they never mentioned it, Robin had been noticing the same things. For a few months now she’d felt an almost unspoken awkwardness in the air between them. She’d had her fair share of friendships that faded as time passed and people grew apart, and she wondered if the same thing was bound to happen with Inigo. After almost six years of getting to know him, she felt like he’d grown up so much.

Maybe it was only natural that they go their separate ways in life.

Shortly after her graduation, Robin stopped by to visit Inigo. She wasn’t sure why exactly, but for some reason it felt like the right thing to do. She parked in the driveway of the house she’d been to so many times before, noticing how different it felt arriving by car. She’d always taken the bus before, and it served as just another reminder of how much time had passed since she’d last been there.

Within the past month, Robin had managed to save up enough money to afford a used car, which she now used as her primary means of transportation. It really was a lot more convenient, especially considering she was probably going to commute to work every day in the future.

Working… everything was happening so fast, and it seemed like only yesterday that she was entering her college dorm room for the first time. She pushed away those thoughts for the moment and rang the doorbell.

There was the sound of footsteps, and then Inigo opened the door looking bright and cheerful. “Robin! Come in.”

She stepped inside and noticed that some of the furniture had been rearranged. The house had a clean scent, like someone had just sprayed air freshener. “Okay, but I can’t stay too long. I still need to finish packing up my things at school,” she said.

Inigo nodded and led the way to the kitchen where a wide array of snacks were spread out on the dining table. He offered Robin a glass of water and indicated that she should help herself to the food. “Do you need any help? My parents and I could drop by later,” he said.

“I should be fine, but thank you,” she said as she took one of the peanut butter crackers. “And you still have school tomorrow, right?”

“Unfortunately,” he said. The clock ticked loudly as they ate in silence. “But I’ve always got time for you.”

She frowned and looked up at him with concern. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“What?” He blinked a few times as if coming out of a trance. “Nothing!”

It sounded unconvincing, even to his own ears. Robin looked at him skeptically. “You only act flirty when you’re feeling shy or something’s bothering you,” she said. “You’re gonna have to try harder if you want to keep things hidden. So what’s up?”

Inigo sighed. “You know me too well. Nothing’s wrong, I promise. I’m just… confused. Since you’re graduating and everything. I won’t get to see you as much. And I haven’t seen you much lately anyway, so…”

“Yeah,” she said, dropping her gaze. In a quiet voice, she asked, “Would you still want to see me though?”

“What?” Her question confused him, to say the least.

“You have friends your own age, right?” She said. “You can probably relate to them more than me.”

“I relate to you just fine,” he said. Before he could change his mind and chicken out, he added, “And I want to see you because you’re you.”

He said it in that way only Inigo could, and Robin remembered another conversation where he’d said something similar.

“You’re right,” she said. “But I don’t know how much free time I’ll have, at least until I get adjusted and find a job… there are so many things I need to do now. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, I know. Look Robin, I know that things are changing and maybe they’re not the same as before, but… you’re still my friend and someone close to me. And that’s all that matters, right?”

“Right,” she said. She avoided his eyes in an apologetic way. “I’m sorry if things have been weird the last few months.”

He shook his head. “No, I think it was my fault, really. It’s just… growing up sucks, you know?”

She laughed. “I couldn’t agree more. Life gets in the way sometimes, doesn’t it?”

Inigo hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Will you still come to my birthday party?”

Robin hummed in response. “I thought you said you were getting too old for one.”

“If it means we’ll still get to see each other, I’ll have one.”

She smiled. “Okay. And if I can’t make it, I’ll take you out for ice cream another time.”

He gave her a thumbs up. “Deal.”

“So you’re too old for birthday parties, but not ice cream?”

He winked like they were sharing a secret. “You never outgrow ice cream.”

She grinned. “I agree.”

It was an unspoken resolution, but one that both of them understood. Even if their lives took them in separate directions, they were still friends.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inigo started high school shortly after. As Robin had noted, he was a pretty good student overall and made time for his friends on top of that. A few months into the new school year brought him a few close friends, and on a pleasant Friday afternoon in October, they met up at the local shopping center.

Severa had insisted that they check out this one café-style coffee shop, and so the four of them were seated in a slightly cramped booth sipping their drinks with the relaxed air of people looking forward to the weekend.

Sitting next to Inigo was Gerome, who stirred his coffee while wearing his usual brooding expression. Gerome was the kind of person who kept mostly to himself and always had a dark aura about him, but that just seemed to make him more attractive to the girls at school. At the present moment he looked as antisocial as ever, but Inigo could have sworn he saw a couple of girls from the next table over watching Gerome with interest.

And so his friend got a lot of unwanted attention while Inigo could barely talk to a girl without being labeled as a nuisance (mostly because of his cheesy flirting, which most girls found mildly annoying at best).

On the other side of the table was Severa, who Inigo had met when he’d tried to hit on her friend, Noire. Severa had told Inigo to back off, which he did, but he still came by to try and talk to them every so often. Eventually she realized that Inigo was relatively harmless, and the three of them had become friends.

He thought that Severa and Noire had a strange friendship, considering the two of them were polar opposites. Whereas Severa wasn’t afraid to say exactly what was on her mind, Noire was more hesitant to speak up (except when she was angry, which Inigo had learned the hard way).

Gerome took a sip of his coffee and made a face. “Bitter,” he said.

Severa rolled her eyes. “How many times have I told you to add sugar? Or if you hate the stuff so much then stop drinking it!”

He stubbornly continued to drink it without sweetener. In a flat tone of voice, he said, “Inigo got rejected today.”

“Again?” Severa and Noire said in unison.

“I told you not to say anything!” Inigo said, hiding his face behind his hands. “Honestly, you’ve got to think of better ways to change the subject besides throwing me under the bus.”

“What happened this time?” Noire asked.

“Probably the usual,” Severa supplied. “He tries a cheesy pick-up line, creeps out a couple of girls, and they walk away trying to pretend he doesn’t exist.”

“That doesn’t happen all the time,” he said as he frowned out the window.

She studied him for a moment. “You know, you’re actually not bad-looking. You just suck at making a connection with girls,” she said.

“So you think I’m good-looking then, Severa?” Inigo asked with a wink.

“I never said that,” she said, shoving his face away. “But you’d probably have more success if you didn’t flirt with everyone in a skirt.”

“Agreed,” Noire said. She looked thoughtful, then said, “Maybe I should start chasing him away from girls.”

“Should I be scared?” He asked. “It didn’t sound like you were joking.”

“I wasn’t,” she said seriously. Inigo wondered how he’d ended up with such weird friends.

“Alright, I think we’ve bullied me enough,” he said in a loud voice. “And besides, it’s not like you guys are experts on this sort of thing either. Well, actually, I take that back.”

He gave Gerome a pointed look, who put his hands up defensively. “Don’t look at me,” the other boy said. “I don’t ask for that kind of attention.”

“Romance is wasted on the ungrateful,” Inigo said decisively. “Wish I had that kind of luck.”

“You have someone you like?” Noire asked, a trace of disbelief in her voice. “Who?”

“I’m interested in that, too,” Severa said, leaning onto the table. “No offense, but it’s hard to imagine you liking someone.”

“Leave me alone, guys,” he said, a blush creeping onto his face. He suddenly became very interested in his drink coaster. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you who it was. You’d just make fun of me.”

“Not true,” Severa said, but Inigo found it hard to believe her when she was obviously trying not to laugh. Seeing his face, she added, “At least, I wouldn’t if you were serious about her.”

She crossed his mind, just for a moment. It was a fleeting thought, one that passed as soon as it came to mind. That was years before, all in the past, and anyway it wasn’t like he’d really known what love was back then. Not that he knew much more now, but the adoration of an eight-year old seemed insignificant compared to the real thing. Still…

“Yeah, whatever,” he said in an attempt to brush things off. “So, how about that history test today, huh?”

“Now who’s anxious to change the subject?” Gerome said. Eventually the topic of conversation drifted away from Inigo and his less-than-stellar success with girls.

Complicated things like romance and love could wait for now.


	7. Something More

“Inigo, it’s Robin,” his mother said.

He practically fell out of his chair, spluttering for a few moments before forming real words. “R-robin? She’s here? Right now? I-I didn’t brush my hair today! Wait, why is she even here?!”

He made a desperate attempt to comb his hair using his fingers, with little success. His mother giggled at his reaction. Her son was too cute sometimes. “No, she just called. Here, she wants to talk to you.”

She handed the phone to him and he pressed it to his ear intently, wondering why Robin was calling and if he should be worried because something bad had happened. Swallowing his anxiety as best he could, he managed to compose himself before squeaking out, “Hello?”

“Hey Inigo, how’s it going?” Her voice sounded a little different on the phone, but he could tell it was her.

“Um, good. Great! I’m fine. How are you?” He was rambling, he knew, but in his defense he’d never talked to a girl on the phone before. Well, except his mom, but that didn’t count.

He glanced around his room, shuffling his foot as a hundred worries passed through his mind. Did he sound nervous? Was he talking too fast? Could she tell that his voice had cracked on the last word? In contrast, she sounded cool and collected in ways he wished he could.

“I’m doing well, things have calmed down a bit,” she said. “I’ve finally gotten settled into my new apartment and work has been winding down. Overall, I’ve been in a pretty good mood these days.”

Inigo nodded, then remembered that he was on the phone and she couldn’t see him. “That’s good,” he said.

He wished he had something more interesting to say, but he was relieved he could at least make halfway decent conversation in a new situation like this. It was surprising to think he’d never talked to Robin via phone call before, especially considering how often she used to come to his house. Then again, he reasoned, she’d probably called plenty of times back when he was younger and wasn’t allowed to answer the phone (he suspected his parents thought he might try and chat up the person on the other end).

There was a pause before Robin said in a casual tone, “So listen, I was wondering if you’re free on Saturday night? I was thinking maybe you’d like to come over for dinner and see my new place.”

If Inigo had plans, he would have cancelled them on the spot. He hadn’t seen Robin since his 15th birthday party several months ago, and needless to say he missed her company. “Sure! I’m very free,” he said.

“Alright, I’ll see you then,” she said, and he was pretty sure she sounded pleased. “I’ve got so many things to tell you, I can’t wait.”

“Yeah,” Inigo said, feeling his heart thumping in his chest. “I’m looking forward to it, too.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mom, does this look weird?”

Olivia had been watching her son try to brush his hair for the past five minutes. It was more entertaining than she’d ever admit (he’d probably get embarrassed if she said anything) to see him applying water to a particular cowlick that just wouldn’t lie flat. He’d then switched to gel, but only ended up making it look even worse than before.

Stifling a giggle, she took the brush from him and patiently rearranged his hair, smoothing back the stray hairs. “There. How’s that?” She asked.

Inigo patted the top of his hair experimentally, turning sideways to see himself better in the mirror. “A lot better than what I was doing,” he said. “Are you sure there isn’t some magic trick I don’t know about?”

“It’s called practice, dear,” she said. “I’ll be in the car, you’ll be late if we don’t go soon.”

Running his hand through his hair one last time, he turned off the bathroom light and followed his mother to the car. Inigo had been anxiously anticipating this day ever since Robin had invited him almost a week ago, but now that it was happening he felt strangely nervous.

He wisely hadn’t mentioned anything to his friends. Knowing them, they’d probably zero in on the fact that Robin was a girl and he was going to her house and make a big deal out of it. Then again… now that he was thinking about it, he was wondering if maybe this was kind of a big deal. It’s not like he’d ever been to Robin’s house before and even though she was his friend this felt different than the time he’d visited Gerome’s house. Maybe he should have prepared a gift?

Before he could ask his mother to stop at the nearest convenience store, they were arriving at Robin’s apartment and he was forced to swallow his misgivings. He took the elevator up to the fifth floor and followed the numbers until he reached the right door. Hesitantly, he knocked twice and waited.

A few seconds passed before the door swung open to reveal Robin. Inigo realized he hadn’t been prepared for how wonderful it would be to see her again. Her hair was tied back into a half-ponytail style so he could see her silver earrings sparkling in the light. She wore a simple black shirt and jeans, nothing too fancy. But above all else, her smile was the best part.

“Hi, Robin,” he said a little breathlessly. “Um, you look nice.”

Nice didn’t even begin to cover it, but at least he tried. “So do you,” she said, eyes sweeping over his more-formal-than-usual collared shirt and slacks. “You didn’t need to dress up, you know. It’s just my house.”

“Which is exactly why I did,” he countered. “If this isn’t a red letter day, I don’t know what is.”

“I’m flattered,” she said with a grin. “Come in, make yourself comfortable. Feel free to look around, the stew’s almost done.”

He followed her through the entryway into the main living room area. The furniture was classic and simple in neutral tones, but there were also purple accents spread throughout which made him smile.

She had one large bookshelf placed next to the TV, filled with books from end to end. Passing by, he noticed she had them organized by subject and genre. Although she kept a good amount of reference texts, she had even more fiction novels. The colorful book jackets looked a lot more inviting than the plain nonfiction books, and he wondered what kinds of stories she liked best.

He noticed a bunch of pink orchids were arranged neatly in a glass vase that sat atop the middle of the coffee table. They reminded him a bit of cherry blossoms, and he thought they matched Robin for some reason.

On the side table next to the couch he saw several picture frames and moved closer to take a look. He hadn’t expected to see many pictures at her house since Robin had grown up in an orphanage, and as he looked closer he realized that the people in the pictures were most likely her friends.

There was a red-haired girl with a mischievous smile wearing a necklace with a string of three gold coins in the center. Beside her stood an orange-haired guy wearing a thin black bandana around his forehead. Inigo thought the guy looked more interested in the lollipop he was holding than the fact that they were taking a picture, judging by the way he smirked at the candy like he was trying to seduce it. Robin stood in the middle next to a tall, blue-haired guy wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed off his muscles. The guy had his arm around a cheerful looking girl wearing pigtails, and Inigo decided that they looked similar enough to be siblings.

There was a separate picture beside the first one with just Robin and the blue-haired guy. It was a great picture, one of those candid shots that somehow manage to turn out good. In the picture they were laughing as the wind blew through their hair. It seemed more than a little suspect to Inigo that this guy got a special picture all by himself with Robin, and he did seem pretty handsome.

“Hey, Robin?” Inigo called. “Is this guy your boyfriend?”

She walked up to him, drying her hands on a towel. Seeing the picture he was pointing to, she said, “No, we’re just friends now.”

Her smile was different than the one he was used to seeing. It was a strange mixture of happiness and sadness, and Inigo had the feeling there were memories and feelings associated with this guy that he’d never experienced.

It made sense, he reasoned, that Robin had dated people before. He felt somewhat apart from the whole thing considering he’d never had a girlfriend before. He didn’t even have anyone he liked that way…

“So these are your friends?” He asked in an attempt to cover up his internal confusion.

“Yeah, we were really close all through college. Now that we’re working it’s harder to find time to get together, but I still consider them good friends,” she explained. “Come on, dinner’s ready.”

The kitchen was small but cozy, and was illuminated by a warm light. On the table were two bowls of stew that smelled amazing. He sat down and eagerly picked up his spoon.

“Wow, this is great,” he said after a few mouthfuls of stew. “Makes me think I should start learning to cook.”

“Glad you think so,” she said, just as intently focused on eating as he was. “This stew is one of my favorite dishes. Easy to make, too.”

Another few minutes passed by as they ate in silence. It didn’t feel awkward, and neither felt the need to force conversation to fill up the empty space. Inigo was grateful as this silent understanding passed between them, and he finished up the food in quiet delight.

Once the conversation did start, it never seemed to stop. They exchanged stories about how life had been, talked about things to come, and reminisced about days gone by.

“Do you remember when we used to play chess?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun back then,” he said. “I remember looking forward to the days when we would play together after school.”

She smiled, but her expression turned a little sad. With a sigh, she said, “I owe you an apology about that.”

“What?” Inigo was surprised, to say the least. “Why?”

“Thinking back, I shouldn’t have insisted that we play chess together,” she said. “It was selfish of me. I didn’t know many people who I could play with back then, and so I thought maybe you could fulfill that role. But now, when I think about you starting out as a beginner… it must have been so frustrating to lose to me every time. I can’t imagine how much harder it must have been being so young.”

He considered that for a moment. Then he found his answer. “Well, sure, maybe it wasn’t so fun to lose. But when I was younger, I was just happy that I got to play with you, Robin. And also, well… this is embarrassing to say, but I wanted any excuse to be close to you. And then I started to like chess too because I knew you liked it so much. So I thought, um, it was something special that we shared, just the two of us.”

He blushed, even though it wasn’t anything she didn’t know already. Robin seemed to cheer up a bit at his words though, and that made it worth it. “Thank you. Even if you’re just saying it to make me feel better, I’m glad.”

“Why bring it up now though?” He asked. “I mean, that was a long time ago.”

“I was talking to a friend about chess and it made me think. He said if you’re a beginner playing against someone much more experienced, it’s hard because you don’t know anything yet. They’ll be forming strategies and putting things together and you won’t even know why they’re making the moves they’re making since you’ve got nothing to go on.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Inigo said. “But it’s okay because you went easy on me, right? When I think about it, I still don’t know how good you really are. Can’t say I mind too much though. I’ve always known your skill was way beyond mine when it came to chess. But I’m okay with that.”

He felt better when she laughed in that gentle way of hers. “I shouldn’t be surprised by now,” she said. “But your sincerity always catches me off guard, Inigo. If you’re okay with it, then I am too.”

He turned away to hide his blush as he said, “You know, I tried to get some of my friends to play with me before. None of them were as good as you. Also, it probably didn’t help that most of them had never played a game of chess before in their lives. So there was that. Point is, it made me appreciate having learned from a master like you.”

It was Robin’s turn to blush. “You’re too kind,” she said. “I’m no grandmaster, by any stretch of the imagination.”

“False modesty gets you nowhere,” he said with a grin. “And there’s something I’ve never asked you. What’s your favorite chess piece?”

“My favorite?” She repeated. “That’s a tough question. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.”

“Granted. But you’ve gotta have one,” he insisted. “You’ve been playing chess for so long, there has to be one you favor over the others.”

“It’s been a while since you first learned as well, Inigo,” she pointed out. “What’s your favorite piece?”

He frowned as he realized he wasn’t sure. She laughed at his expression, and he chuckled in a self-deprecating sort of way. “That wasn’t fair,” he said. “Okay, fine. You don’t have to answer.”

Robin tucked her hair behind her ear, a thoughtful look on her face. “Well, if I had to choose just one, I’d say the knight.”

He imagined one of the horse-shaped pieces, mildly surprised by her choice. “Not the queen?”

“I used to like the queen a lot more when I was first starting out,” Robin said. “I thought it was so cool that she could move in any direction, and I always wanted to get her into action as fast as possible. But then I realized the queen’s greatest weakness.”

“What’s that?” Inigo asked, wondering what Robin thought were the hidden intricacies of the game.

“The queen is too valuable,” Robin said. “You almost never want to sacrifice your queen, unless it’s to take the other player’s in return. In that sense, she becomes more of a liability than an asset, even though she’s able to do so much.”

The pieces clicked together, and he snapped his fingers in understanding. “So you like the knight. Because of its movement pattern?”

“Bingo,” she said. “The knight is the only piece that can essentially travel in two directions within the same turn because of its L-shape movement pattern. And it can move through other pieces, which makes blocking the knight different from blocking other pieces.”

Inigo nodded, taking all this in. He vaguely remembered her explaining the basics to him before, but that felt like such a long time ago. There was a clever gleam in her eyes as she laid out her reasoning, and over the years Inigo had come to recognize this as a subtle indication of Robin’s interest in a subject. He thought she was especially beautiful when she talked about things with such dedication and interest.

“When used by a skillful player, the knight can potentially be a game-changing piece,” she continued. “I like how the knight is like a wild card. It’s still tricky for me to use, but I think I like that about it, too. So there you have it.”

He was quiet for a moment, then pointed an accusatory finger at her and said, “You’ve totally thought about this before! You just wanted to put me on the spot earlier.”

She grinned in a playful way. “If you say so, Inigo.”

Maybe she was more like the knight, with her tactical wit and sharp mind. But to Inigo she was still a queen, valuable and capable of moving in any direction she wanted. So why couldn’t the king do anything to protect her? He realized that maybe he was taking this chess analogy a little too far, but his question still stood. Robin was far too special to be held back by anyone.

While he was lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice Robin glance at the clock. “It’s getting late,” she said. “I promised Olivia I’d drive you home by 9.”

He reluctantly nodded, wondering where the time had gone. They cleaned up the dishes and Robin packed up some of the leftovers, insisting that he take some home with him.

He felt a strange sense of nervousness getting in the car with her. Sitting in the passenger seat felt like some kind of earned privilege, and it didn’t feel like so long ago when he used to sit in the backseat as a child. He glanced over at Robin before quickly looking out the passenger window. If he looked at her for too long it would only confuse him even more.

It was dark outside, but the moon shone brightly through the clouds. He leaned back in his chair and stared out the window, thinking that the lights of the houses in the distance twinkled like stars. As they drove along the highway with the radio playing old love songs in the background, to Inigo the mood felt just a little bit different.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They arrived at his house all too soon. They got out of the car together and Robin walked him to the front door.

“Thanks for dinner,” he said. “I had a lot of fun.” It felt like such an understatement, but she seemed to understand.

“No problem, it was nice not having to eat by myself for a change,” she said with that smile he loved so much.

Just as he was trying to decipher that thought, she turned to leave and before he could stop himself, he called out, “Robin!”

She stopped. He hesitated. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, just that he need to say something because… because what? Inigo was painfully reminded of the days when he was in elementary school and desperately wished she didn’t have to go.

“I’ll see you later,” he managed.

If he was being honest, nothing had changed. He still didn’t want her to go. He still didn’t want to say goodbye.

She must have heard the resignation in his tone, because what she did next was nothing short of amazing. She hugged him. Inigo was so stunned at first that his arms hung limply at his sides, unsure of what to do. Then he slowly brought them around her to return the gesture. He realized with a start that he was taller than her now, and she felt warm and soft in his arms in all the right ways.

With his head on her shoulder and the smell of her shampoo surrounding him, he felt a strange sense of longing for… something. Whenever it came to Robin, there was this pull of something… something that wasn’t quite friendship. It was something else. Something more he didn’t quite understand. This was Robin, the girl he’d known since he was eight. Robin, the girl who was a lot older than him, and so far away he felt like he’d never catch up. Robin, his friend and –

She pulled away all too soon, and he forced himself to smile to hide all the confusion he felt inside. She looked at him, and for a moment he thought he saw the hint of something different in her eyes. The wind brushed past them with the softness of a whisper and he imagined what it would feel like for him to brush his fingers through her hair. His breath caught in his throat.

She was beautiful.

He was the one to break the spell. Waving his hand in farewell, he said, “Bye, Robin.”

The moment was over and she was leaving as he waved goodbye, standing in the doorway watching the lights of her car disappear into the distance. Closing the front door behind him, he just stood there for a while. “I guess there’s no helping it then,” he said softly.

Because he knew why he felt nervous around Robin. He knew why he was so breathless when he saw her. He knew why he felt jealous when he saw her and that guy looking so happy in the picture together.

Inigo wanted to stand at Robin’s side, but he couldn’t help but wonder if by doing so, he’d be like the king holding back the queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Nothing had changed, yet at the same time, everything was different between us.


	8. If you love someone...

_Inigo wanted to stand at Robin’s side, but he couldn’t help but wonder if by doing so, he’d be like the king holding back the queen._

Ever since the day he’d realized he was in love with Robin, things had been hard for Inigo. He hadn’t felt any of the supposed happiness and elation the stories say you’re supposed to feel when you’re in love. If anything, he felt even more confused and miserable than before. He thought that maybe he was just making things more complicated than they needed to be, but then he always reminded himself that sometimes things weren’t so simple.

Because she was older than him. So much older.

Inigo wondered if maybe it would have been better if he’d never realized his feelings for Robin. Then they could have remained normal friends forever and he wouldn’t have had to stress about the idea of there being something more between them. The months of indecision that followed his realization were agonizing, and his thoughts constantly went in circles around what he was supposed to do now.

For the most part nothing had changed and their relationship was still the same as always. But now that he knew how he felt about her, everything was different and Inigo couldn’t look at their friendship the way he used to. He couldn’t look at her the way he used to.

Because he loved her and that was no small thing. He loved her. Oh my god, he loved her. Maybe those moments where his heart fluttered in her presence as a child were a sign. Even back then he’d loved her, and over time his feelings had grown until he couldn’t deny it anymore.

At the very least, he decided that it was safest to default to not saying anything. Inigo was a good enough actor that he could fake being alright when he was around her, but he knew he was just forestalling the inevitable. He couldn’t lie to himself about his feelings forever. So there was only one option.

…but he couldn’t.

Every time he thought about it, the shy little boy who couldn’t talk to girls resurfaced and he went into denial all over again. How could he confess his feelings, especially when the outlook seemed bad no matter how he thought about it? She’d most likely turn him down, and he didn’t think he could handle that. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed the way his strange behavior worried his mother.

Inigo’s mother was fairly attentive to her son’s moods, and it hadn’t escaped her attention that he’d been tense the past few months. Even if he was better at hiding it than she was, her son reminded Olivia a lot of her own shyness. She hadn’t wanted to be a nosy mother when it came to Inigo’s problems, but she decided that she felt a responsibility to try and guide him when he felt lost. He wasn’t a child anymore, but he wasn’t quite an adult yet either. With that resolve in mind, she went to talk to him.

“Inigo?” She knocked on the door to his room.

He opened the door, a smile on his face. “Hi, Mom. What’s up?”

Olivia was reminded of Henry and how his smile hadn’t always been genuine when they were first getting to know each other. “Can I come in for a moment? I thought maybe we could talk for a bit.”

“Is something wrong?” He asked as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

“Well, that’s what I wanted to ask you,” she said, taking a seat at his desk chair. “You’ve seemed stressed lately.”

He hesitated, his smile faltering a little. “It’s… complicated.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said soothingly. “Is it something you can’t talk about?”

He lowered his gaze, almost looking ashamed of himself. “Mom, what would you say if I told you I was in love with someone… older than me?”

She blinked. Inigo was at that age where liking someone romantically was hardly uncommon. She still remembered his casually flirtatious attitude from his younger days, and noted how serious he seemed now. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” she said honestly.

“Really?” He asked, looking both hopeful and doubtful. “She’s a lot older. Like, eight years older.”

She blinked again. The pieces fit together and she ventured to ask, “Are you talking about Robin?”

He blushed fiercely, in a way that looked especially cute. She giggled and he turned away shyly. “Um, maybe. Don’t laugh! C-could you stop staring, please?”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place? If it’s Robin then I’m not surprised. And besides,” she said, placing her arm around him comfortingly. “We can’t control who we fall in love with.”

He nodded, still hiding his face. “Y-yeah,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure how much older you meant at first, but if it’s Robin then… well, Robin is a wonderful girl,” she said, an image of the kind, white-haired girl coming to mind. “So I think it’s perfectly alright.”

He looked up sheepishly, his bangs falling across his eyes. “You think so?”

“Mhm,” she said, sweeping his hair out of his face like she used to when he was small. “And I think you’re more than old enough to make your own decisions now, Inigo. So you do what you think is best, okay?”

He hugged her, burying his face in her neck. “Thanks, Mom. And sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” she said, stroking his hair gently.

“Pot to kettle,” he mumbled. “But you’re right, like always.”

Olivia smiled. Her son was growing up.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After he finished talking with his mother, Inigo continued to sit at the edge of his bed, gripping his knees out of nervous anticipation. He knew what he had to do, but wasn’t sure if he had the resolve to do it. He snuck a glance at the phone sitting on his desk, willing himself to reach out for it.

Dialing the number he’d learned by heart in the last few months, Inigo took a deep breath and waited as the line on the other end started ringing.

He didn’t have to wait for long, because she picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Hello, Robin? It’s me. Um, Inigo. It’s Inigo,” he said. At this point, he’d given up on trying to sound cool over the phone. “I was wondering if you’re free to hang out on Friday?”

“I think so, let me just check my calendar,” she said as he heard the sound of papers rustling in the background. “Hey, that’s the seventh! In that case, we definitely have to hang out for your birthday. Any plans in mind?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could go out to eat dinner, take a walk through the park,” he said honestly. He started to blush as he realized how much that sounded like a date. “I mean, if you want to?”

“Sounds perfect,” she said, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “My treat, okay? Consider it part of your present. After all, it’s not every day you turn sixteen.” There was a pause before he heard what sounded like a sigh. “You’re growing up so fast,” she murmured.

Not fast enough, he thought. Instead he said, “Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

“Sure does,” she said. With a self-deprecating laugh, she added, “Makes me feel old.”

He shook his head vehemently. “Not at all! You’re still young. You look great! Really.”

“You’re sweet,” she said, causing his blush to deepen. “Makes me wish I could stop time and stay this young forever. Well, no use wishing for things that can’t happen.”

He hummed in agreement, thinking how nice it would be if she could stop time and wait for him. If only.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Inigo woke up that Friday, it felt like any other day. He got up, brushed his hair drowsily, and was halfway through brushing his teeth when he remembered that today was his birthday. He was meeting Robin for dinner tonight. He was going to tell her his feelings.

He was going to tell her he loved her.

Suddenly feeling very awake, Inigo rushed to get ready, willing the school day to end quickly so he could see Robin. His good mood didn’t go unnoticed by his friends, who teased him a little but cut him slack because it was his birthday.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were happy because you finally got a girl to say yes to a date,’ Severa commented at one point.

He held back a smile. Technically it wasn’t incorrect, but he wasn’t about to give her any more bait to mock him with. “That actually happened once,” he reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I remember. She said yes, alright. Too bad she thought she was agreeing to a date with, how did she put it, “the tall, dark, and handsome one.” Pity she wasn’t talking about you.”

Inigo groaned. “And that’s the last time I asked Gerome to be my wingman.”

“I could take over,” Noire said. Inigo might have agreed just to humor her, if she didn’t have such a strange smile on her face.

“No thanks. You’d probably do the opposite of what a wingman is supposed to do. I still have nightmares about the time you almost shot me with an arrow when I was talking to a girl last year,” he said, shuddering at the memory. Ever since Noire had taken up archery, she’d proved herself to be surprisingly good at it, much to Inigo’s chagrin.

“Anyway, happy birthday,” Gerome said. “Maybe we can all pitch in and go out to celebrate later.”

“Thanks guys,” Inigo said gratefully. “I have a feeling today’s gonna be a good day.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Robin’s car pulled up into the driveway, Inigo was already waiting outside. As she stepped out to greet him, he adjusted his collar nervously, at which she grinned. They exchanged a few words, and it was clear how Inigo’s face lit up when she spoke. They got into the car, and he waved goodbye to his mother, who stood at the window.

Olivia watched him go, a smile on her face. She didn’t notice Henry approaching until his arms were around her, his cool breath tickling her neck.

“Hey, Olivia. Whatcha doing?”

She placed her hands atop his, leaning back into him. “Just saying bye to Inigo,” she said. “He’s going out with Robin tonight. I hope things go well for them.”

“Mhm,” he nodded. “I wouldn’t worry too much. Inigo’s a good kid. I trust that he’ll make the right decisions, given time. Although I wouldn’t mind if Robin was our daughter-in-law, either, hehe.”

She playfully pushed him away, a smile on her lips. “It’s too early to start thinking about that. I was hoping he could be my son for a little longer, but… well, I suppose no matter how old he gets, I’ll always remember the way he held onto my hand when he was young. It’s strange. I’m both happy and sad that he’s almost an adult.”

Henry smiled and laughed. “Aha, well, he’ll always be our son, you know.”

Olivia sighed. “You’re right,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder as she hugged him again. “We’ve raised him well, Henry. Thank you.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The evening air was cool as they walked through the park, and Inigo was grateful his mother had insisted he bring a jacket. Dinner had gone well, and so far he was in a great mood, all things considered. Amidst all the fun and laughter, he’d almost forgotten about his resolution to confess his feelings to Robin. Almost.

But for now, he could delay that just a little longer. “Robin?” He said. “Tell me more about what you were like at sixteen.”

“I’ve told you most of my stories already,” she said, a thoughtful look on her face. “Well, let me see. I used to hang out with my friends sometimes, although they wondered why I liked to spend so much time going to the library afterschool.”

“Hey, reading is important,” he said. “It can be fun, too, when you’re reading about things you like.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” she said. “Although once senior year came around I didn’t have as much time to be reading books for fun anymore. I had to start applying to college, and believe me when I say that was a stressful time.”

“I can imagine,” he said, trying not to worry too much about his own fast-approaching senior year.

A hint of a smile played at the corners of her lips as she said, “And I remember I met this one very eager and flirtatious little boy who just wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she said.

Inigo couldn’t help but grin. “I think I like this kid,” he said. “He had his priorities straight.”

“We got to be really good friends,” she went on, not trying to hide her smile anymore. “He begged me not to go to college because he thought he’d never see me again. We kept in touch over the years, and he always remembered to invite me to his birthday parties.”

They both laughed together, feeling perfectly at ease. Robin looked at him with kind eyes. “He’s my best friend,” she said. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I’m sure he feels the same,” he said softly.

She started walking ahead of him, and for some reason it felt like she was walking away. Just as that thought crossed his mind, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

Robin felt his hand grab hers and turned around to face him. He looked so vulnerable, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Inigo?”

“I…” All the planning he’d thought through was forgotten the moment he took her hand on impulse. All these feelings. He didn’t want them but at the same time he didn’t want to let them go. He didn’t want to let her go. Because she was his best friend. Because he…

“What’s wrong?” She asked gently. “You can tell me.”

“I can’t,” he said quietly, unable to meet her eyes. He’d tried to work up the courage to say his part, and now at the last minute he was getting cold feet again.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said. She reached up to hold her hand to his cheek and he gasped at the gesture. “It’s okay.”

She smiled at him, and he wanted so desperately to tell her everything that he was too afraid to say. “I’m sorry,” he said instead.

“Don’t apologize,” she said. “Just know that I care about you, okay? And it’s your birthday! Cheer up!”

She was way too good for him. She gave him understanding when he felt so wrong for feeling the way he did. So… this was his answer.

“Thank you,” he said, squeezing her hand. Taking her other hand in his, he looked at her seriously. She looked at him, waiting, sensing he was going to say something. And he was going to say it this time.

“Robin… I love you.”

Time seemed to stand still as the magnitude of his words sank in for both of them. Inigo felt such relief at having finally said the thing he’d been avoiding for months, but there was still the question of what her answer would be.

Robin was stunned at first. Then she felt a sadness settle inside her, not because of his words, but because of the implications.

As she looked at him now, she knew that he was no longer the little boy she had first met seven years ago. He was taller, thin but with some defined muscle around his arms. His hair was as pale as ever, bangs swept just so across his forehead. His features had matured, but his eyes still had that same youthful innocence in them, and a wave of nostalgia washed over her at the sight.

As Inigo held her hands and waited for her response, Robin accepted that things would never be the same after this conversation.

“Thank you,” she said. “But I can’t return those feelings, Inigo.”

He felt his heart sink. He’d been expecting this, of course, but it still hurt. “I understand,” he said, knowing the words sounded hollow.

“Before I say anything else, I want you to know something,” she said. “I feel like few other people will ever know me as well as you do, and I always love spending time together. But…”

“It’s our age difference, isn’t it?” He’d finally brought up the elephant in the room. They both recognized it, but neither had ever acknowledged it out loud until now.

“Yeah, “she said softly. “It is.”

“I thought you’d answer this way,” he said. “Because you don’t want to complicate things for us, and I get that, I really do. But I still want to know… how do you feel about me?”

She dropped her hands from his. “Please don’t ask me that. I don’t… I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Robin,” he whispered. “Do you love me? As more than a friend?”

Her eyes were downcast as she said, “To me you’ll always be that little boy I met on the park bench.”

Inigo felt his heart breaking. Robin hated the words as soon as she said them. She had hoped she’d never have to use them, but they were her last resort to get him to understand that they could never be together.

Even if she had to lie to get him to see that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: In a land of confusing thoughts and feelings, our friends are the ones that pull us through.


	9. Let Her Go

“We have to do something about that.”

Gerome looked up from the book he was reading to see a very clearly agitated Severa. She was pointing towards a group of girls who were huddled together a few desks away, talking in hushed tones. He didn’t see what the problem was, until she let out a derisive snort and said, “They’re talking about him,” like it was the worst insult she could give.

He stared up at her blankly. “Who?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, you know what I mean!” She said huffily before sitting down on the seat across from him. Gerome honestly had no idea what she was going on about, but figured if he stayed quiet she’d eventually spell it out for him.

She crossed her arms and leaned back into the chair, a scowl on her face. “They’re talking about Inigo.”

He very nearly rolled her eyes, but caught himself when he realized that was something Severa would do and he wasn’t ready to stoop to that level just yet. “Since when do you care about things like that? If that’s all, then I was actually doing something important, so if you don’t mind –”

He was about to go back to reading, but Severa was having none of that. She snatched the book out of his hands, preparing to throw it across the room. Gerome stood up and grabbed her wrist, effectively stopping her.

With a barely concealed glare, he said, “I’d prefer if you didn’t ruin my things. That’s a library book and I’d hate to have to pay the damaged fee.”

She scoffed and let him have the book back. “Who even goes to libraries anymore? Whatever, that’s not the point. Hey, are you listening to me?”

“I am now,” he said with irritation as he sat back down. He tucked the book away safely in his backpack, waiting for the snarky response he knew was coming. “Spit it out.”

“Haven’t you noticed it yet?” She said with an air of superiority that made Gerome’s eye twitch. “I thought he was your best friend or whatever.”

“Inigo?” He asked.

“Who else?” She said. “He’s been way past weird these days. You’ve seen, haven’t you?”

“I’ve seen,” he said, thinking back on the events of the past few weeks. “He’s not all there when you speak to him, and he’s been sighing a lot more.”

“It’s annoying,” Severa summarized. “He just, well, he hasn’t been the same. It’s not even fun to tease him anymore. I just don’t know what’s wrong with him and…”

She didn’t finish her statement, but she didn’t need to. Inigo hadn’t told any of his friends about his confession to Robin, but Gerome could guess what had happened by the drastic change in his behavior that followed. He spent more time by himself and often went straight home after school. When anyone asked if he was okay, he tried to pretend that things were alright, but his smile seemed to lack something.

Perhaps the strangest thing was that he stopped flirting. Even those who didn’t know Inigo personally knew something was up. His sudden switch was a little alarming considering how he used to act, and had a reverse effect on some of the girls he used to charm. Severa had overheard them on more than one occasion talking about how he seemed more mysterious and attractive, at which she’d nearly laughed out loud.

“Now they think he’s some kind of tragic pretty boy,” Severa said as she rolled her eyes. “And the idiot doesn’t even realize. Normally, I’d chalk it up to him trying a new angle to get attention, but even Inigo can’t keep up an act for that long. What the heck happened to him anyway?”

“I might have an idea,” Gerome ventured. Severa looked at him expectantly, but he didn’t elaborate. “But sometimes people just need time alone to think things over. Maybe we should give him that.”

“He’s been like this for almost a month,” she said with emphasis. “How much time does he need? As his friends, shouldn’t we try to help?”

He looked like he was going to argue, but then seemed to think better of it. When it came to Severa, Gerome had wisely learned to pick his battles. “You’re right,” he said. “I’ll try talking to him.”

“Good,” she said in a relieved sort of way. “Just what I was going to suggest. Let’s go.”

“I didn’t say ‘we,’ did I?”

“What are you trying to say, that I’d yell at him or something?” Severa asked, arms crossed defensively.

“Well…”

“Argh!” She stomped her foot in frustration. “God, you’re annoying sometimes. It’s just, he’s being so stupid! Someone’s got to shake him out of it, so it might as well be me.”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “Good intentions aside, you’re kinda harsh on him. You won’t get anything out of him by yelling.”

“Since when were you the expert? And anyway, I feel offended with you talking about me like I’m some kind of problem child,” she said, getting worked up.

Gerome seemed to be deep in thought for a while as Severa grumbled to herself. Without any warning whatsoever, he asked, “Have you ever been in love?”

She stopped. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks. She tried to hide it by turning away. “What’s with you, asking stupid questions? What’s that got to do with anything?!”

“Because I think he’s gone through a rejection,” Gerome said simply. “Why else would he stop talking to girls? My point is, it’ll be hard for you to understand what he’s going through unless you’ve been through it yourself.”

“And you have?” She asked. It was more than a little strange to imagine Gerome, stoic and detached as he was, falling in love with someone.

“…That’s my business.”

He said no more on the subject, and got up to walk away. Severa huffed in frustration, reluctantly accepting that she shouldn’t get involved for now. She thought about Gerome’s lack of an answer, and wondered what kind of experience he’d gone through to feel that way. She frowned and thought to herself that Inigo and Gerome were more complicated than she gave them credit for.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gerome showed up at Inigo’s house the following Saturday. He thought it was rude to show up uninvited, but decided it would be easiest to talk away from school. This way he wouldn’t have to worry about people listening in, especially considering Inigo’s strange popularity these days. After convincing himself for the third time that this was a good idea, he rang the doorbell and waited.

It took a while, but someone finally answered the door. A woman with long pink hair smiled at him and said, “Hello, are you here to see Inigo? You’re his friend, Gerome, aren’t you?”

“I am. Is he home?”

She nodded, concern clouding her expression. “Yes, he hasn’t gone out much lately. I’m glad you came to see him, actually. I know he’s dealing with girl trouble and I’m sure he’d be more willing to talk to a friend than his mom,” she said. Gerome shrugged in agreement. Inigo’s mother knew her son well. “Come in, I’ll call him out for you.”

He entered the house, and sat down to wait in the living room. In a cage next to the couch were a pair of birds. They squawked a little, their black feathers so silky they shined. One of them eyed him with interest, as if challenging him to a staring contest. Gerome stared right back, feeling a little unnerved by the bird’s unflinching gaze.

“Hey.”

Gerome looked up and raised his hand to Inigo in greeting. Gesturing to the birds beside him, he said, “I still think it’s weird that you have pet crows.”

“Says the guy who has a pet dragon.”

“For the thousandth time, I’ve told you, Minerva is a salamander.”

Inigo grinned, and for a moment he looked more like his old self. “Whatever you say, Gerome. So what’s up? Gotta say, I wasn’t expecting you to show up here. But hey, life’s funny sometimes.”

“Sorry to barge in like this,” he said, a little guiltily. “I should’ve called or something. Just wanted to check and see how you’re doing.”

Inigo shrugged and sat down next to him. “Been better. Been worse, too.”

Gerome patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. “I thought maybe we could talk. You’ve been acting kinda strange lately and Severa’s been worried about you.”

Inigo laughed a little. “Severa, worried about me? That’s a first,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”

The crows cooed softly, as if trying to comfort him. Inigo reached out to open the cage, and the one closest to the door flew out. It landed on his arm and almost seemed to cuddle up to him. He stroked the bird gently, laughing as it pecked his arm affectionately.

“It’s a long story,” he said finally.

“I’ve got time,” Gerome said as he leaned back into the couch. “So what happened?”

He took in a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. Continuing to stroke the bird absentmindedly, he said, “There’s this girl that I’m really close with.”

He told Gerome everything, starting from the beginning. He told him about how she used to babysit him after they met by chance in the park. About when she left for college and how devastated he’d felt. About his fear of losing her and how their friendship had developed and changed over the years. About how what had started as an innocent childhood crush had evolved into something much more serious. And about how he loved her and the confession where she turned him down.

Inigo ended things there, and realized that he’d been talking for almost half an hour. The other crow had ventured out of the cage and was sitting on the arm of the sofa, cooing at the first crow that was still perched on Inigo’s arm.

“Wow,” Gerome finally said. “That’s a love story if I ever heard one. Listen, I’m sorry about making fun of you before. I didn’t mean to–”

“It’s okay,” Inigo said, and he meant it. With a sheepish grin, he added, “That was kind of my own fault.”

They laughed together and the tension lifted a little. “So what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Inigo said honestly. “Things are so complicated and… is it stupid that I miss the way things used to be?”

“It’s not stupid,” Gerome said. “And neither are you. Give yourself more credit than that.”

The crows squawked and ruffled their feathers, apparently in agreement. They hopped to the edge of the couch, cawed one more time for good measure, and swiftly flew back to the cage, closing the door behind them.

“Smart birds,” Gerome said grudgingly. They cawed at him more kindly than the first time, which he interpreted as a thank you for the compliment. Turning back to his friend, he said, “Look, I know it always comes back to the age difference, but you can’t help that. That’s what you’ve been fighting against, right? And if you really love her, then…” He put a hand to his forehead as if he couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “Am I really licensed to give you advice about things like this?”

Inigo grinned cheekily. “I knew you were secretly a love expert. Anyway, go on.”

Gerome sighed a little, resigning himself to his task. “From what you’ve told me, you’re really serious about her. And if you feel that strongly… well, I didn’t think you were the type to give up so easily. Not after all these years. Not when you’ve come so far.”

His words hung in the air for a while as Inigo thought about it. Finally, he said, “You’re right. I guess I needed to hear that.”

He smiled, looking much better than he had when Gerome first arrived. “Then you’ve already made up your mind.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I was just scared. But now, I think I know what I’m going to do. Thanks, Gerome. You’re a good friend.”

Gerome stood up to leave, the hint of a smile on his face. “Good luck, Inigo.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inigo called Robin later that day and asked if she had time to talk. Even though it was on short notice, she seemed to understand that it was important to him and they arranged to meet at the park. So now he was back. Back at the park bench where it all began.

He was so young when they first met that he barely remembered how it happened. But his mom and Robin always liked to retell the story of that fateful day, and so they kept the memory alive for him. There was nothing special about this place. But it was special to him because of the person he’d met that day. She was the special one, and through her presence even the most ordinary of things became extraordinary.

He was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice someone approaching until they stood right in front of him and called out his name. “Inigo?”

He would recognize that voice anywhere. “Hey, Robin.”

She smiled, just like before. “Mind if I join you?”

He gestured to the space beside him. “Please.”

They sat next to each other, the sound of all the words left unsaid occupying the silence. Inigo tapped his feet against the sidewalk. Robin remembered how the first time they met here he couldn’t quite reach the ground.

“It’s nice to see you again,” she finally said. She looked down at her hands and breathed out a long sigh. “And I’m sorry.”

He managed a small smile. “I understand why you said it,” he said. “And it’s okay.”

There wasn’t any explanation, but Robin knew what he was referring to. “I’m sorry,” she said again, looking at him seriously. “For all of it. That wasn’t fair to you, and I wish I could take it back.”

“I know,” he said. He looked down, fingers gripping the edge of the bench “You were just trying to protect me, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I was. I thought maybe it would be better if I rejected you for good. Then things would’ve been easier.”

“It would’ve worked too, if I wasn’t so stubborn,” he said. Inigo grinned and she managed a laugh. “But here we are anyway, and, well, I’ve got some things to say. Will you listen?”

She nodded and he took a deep breath in preparation. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking things over, trying to come to terms with everything. Before anything else, I always want to be your friend. That won’t ever change. But even though I tried to get rid of my feelings, I… couldn’t.” Inigo smiled at her, a strange combination of acceptance laced with sadness. He thought about what Gerome had said and that gave him the courage to say his part. “I still love you, Robin.”

She placed her hand over his, and he felt a tingle travel up his spine at her touch. “You’re a lot braver than me, Inigo,” she said. “Even after all this time, I’m still a coward.”

“You’re not,” he said. “Just honest.”

She laughed, and he realized how much he’d missed hearing that. “If things were different –”

“I’d still love you.”

She blinked. “What?”

He blushed and self-consciously brushed a hand through his hair. “We can’t control our circumstances,” he said. “And I can’t change the fact that I’m so much younger than you. But even though things aren’t quite how we want them to be, I’m willing to try anyway. Because… you’re important to me.”

Robin wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. “I feel the same,” she said, and his eyes widened at her implication. She moved back just enough to look at him, a fierce determination in her eyes. “So don’t… don’t give up.”

He smiled, for real this time. “I won’t. Not anymore.”

“Good,” she said, sounding much more relaxed. “It’s still too early for me to say what I really want to. Until then, I hope we can stay friends.”

He nodded, feeling nervous for what he was about to say. “This is gonna sound cliché no matter how I word it, so I’ll just say it. Will you wait for me?”

She squeezed his hand reassuringly. In a strong voice, she said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The day we shared our feelings that could no longer be denied.


	10. Say Yes

“This is stupid.”

Gerome had to once again resist the urge to roll his eyes. He really was spending too much time around Severa if he was picking up her mannerisms. “Stop complaining and just fill out the form.”

“All the choices are dumb,” she argued, gesturing to the half-sheet of paper in disgust. “They make me wanna gag with how cheesy they are. Who the heck thought it was a good idea to put ‘Forever Yours’ here?”

“I did,” he said with a glare.

Severa coughed in response. “You’re on the planning committee? Ugh, no wonder.”

He turned back to his paper and mumbled, “The girls all but forced me to do it.”

She snorted. “Figures. You couldn’t have done a better job than this?”

Severa continued to grumble while Gerome ignored her. Reading over the choices, Inigo silently agreed that they were all pretty bad. The senior class was voting on a theme for prom, and none of the options were anything special. He checked off a few boxes at random, reasoning that the theme wouldn’t make that much of a difference on the overall experience anyway.

Inigo wasn’t all that excited for prom, but he’d agreed to go because his friends were going. Oddly enough, it was Gerome who’d encouraged him to go. Inigo thought his normally antisocial friend would be the last person who’d want anything to do with prom, but after being roped into organizing the event, maybe it was only natural that Gerome felt invested in it.

So Inigo had willingly paid a ridiculous amount of money for his ticket, signed up for a table, and rented a suit, all for a night he didn’t care all that much about. He knew he probably would feel differently if he had a date to go with, but…

He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. He’d already made up his mind that this was fine with him. They’d reached an understanding on where they stood as friends, and he’d accepted what that meant.

But a selfish part of him still wished that he could have had the chance to take her to prom. Their school had a policy about bringing outside guests, and unfortunately for him, no one was allowed to bring a date over the age of 21. He’d briefly considered lying about her age – Robin looked young enough to pass – but then realized that he’d be in trouble if they checked ID. It would have been nice to see Robin all dressed up, but Inigo knew when to admit defeat.

At least there’d be something else to look forward to – Gerome had promised that there would be good food, and Inigo wasn’t going to refuse that.

At the next desk over, Severa nudged Gerome in the arm. He suppressed a sigh of annoyance, and said as calmly as he could, “Yes?”

“I’m not gonna say this again, so listen up,” she said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously before muttering, “Thanks.”

Gerome blinked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that before.”

“Yeah, probably not,” she said, a slight blush on her cheeks. “And you probably won’t ever again.” She nodded towards Inigo and said, “Thanks for talking to him. He seems back to normal.”

“I didn’t do much,” he said, which was true. Inigo had done most of the talking when Gerome went to see him, much to his relief.

“Well, whatever you said to him worked,” she admitted. “He looks happier now, less distressed. I’m glad.”

“He’s worked things out in his own way,” Gerome said. “And I think he’s okay with that.”

Inigo leaned closer, elbow on the desk. He grinned cheekily and said, “So you two are getting along now? Never thought I’d see the day.”

“And you never will,” Severa said. “Idiot.”

Gerome shook his head. She really was stubborn. But he didn’t miss the slight smile she sent his way.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Olivia watched her son struggle to comb his hair, trying not to smile too much at the scene. It really was amazing how he just couldn’t get his hair to do what he wanted. Some things never changed. “You’ve gotten better,” she called from the doorway.

“Really?” Inigo said distractedly. He carefully brushed his bangs back only to have them fall in his eyes again. A few cowlicks stuck out in strange places and the ends of his hair were flattened at awkward angles after he’d tried to wet them down.

“Well… let me help you,” she decided. She took the brush from him, neatly smoothing down the stray hairs with water and using gel to style his bangs out of his eyes.

Inigo sat quietly as his mother fixed his hair, fiddling with the cufflinks on his shirt. She seemed to sense his apprehension and said, “It’ll be fun, Inigo.”

“I hope so,” he said. As an afterthought, he added, “At least I can dance alright.”

She giggled. “I’m sure you’ll have a good time.” She ran the brush through his hair one last time before patting Inigo on the shoulder. “There. All done.”

“You’re amazing,” he declared. “Thanks, Mom. I think the car’s here.”

He gathered up his jacket and draped it over his arm, checked to make sure he’d put on his tie correctly, and headed for the front door. Olivia sighed a little as Inigo met his friends outside and got into the limo they’d arranged for. She saw Gerome, who gave an almost imperceptible smile in her direction and she waved back. Everything would work out for her son, given time. He had more people looking out for him than he knew.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All things considered, Gerome and co. had done a good job. The school had managed to secure a ballroom in one of the nicer hotels in the area and had sectioned off a specific drop off point for the students. A balloon archway framed the double-door entryway, through which there was a sign-in desk distributing roses. Round tables covered with pristine white tablecloths encircled the dance floor, which was waxed to sparkling perfection. A photo booth with props was set up outside, right next to the professional photographer. Overall, Inigo had to admit he was impressed by how well they’d managed to put things together.

The evening progressed as smoothly as one could hope. People took pictures at the photo booth, girls compared dresses, and the dinner was, as promised, pretty good. Inigo tried dancing for a bit, but decided to take a break after he nearly tripped over someone’s shoes. He was sitting at the table half-heartedly eating a slice of cake when Gerome came by.

“Hey,” he said. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, you worry too much. Go have fun with the others, I’m just resting,” Inigo said. He tried to sound cheerful, but Gerome knew when his friend was faking.

He sat down in the chair beside him, a concerned look on his face. “You don’t have to pretend. I think I know you better than that.” Inigo didn’t say anything, and so Gerome said, “She’d want you to have a good time.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I never did tell you how things went after we talked, did I?”

“I thought it best not to pry,” Gerome said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not curious though. I’m guessing it went well?”

Inigo nodded. “Yeah. I think she might even like me, too. So I really shouldn’t be so selfish about tonight. Sometimes we can’t get what we want, no matter what we do.”

Gerome smiled a little. “Sometimes you can.”

Inigo raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

He pointed straight ahead. “See for yourself.”

Inigo slowly looked up, his eyes widening. Someone was standing there, someone he knew very well. In barely a whisper he said, “Robin? W-what are you doing here?”

She grinned at his reaction. “I heard from Gerome that you didn’t have a date.”

He blinked and turned to the chair beside him, but Gerome had already left. Inigo chuckled to himself, making a mental note to thank him later. “Gerome talked to you?”

“We’ve been in touch,” she replied with a wink. “I was able to pull a few strings to get in here. Glad I made it in time.”

She looked amazing. Her hair was pulled back into a half ponytail and adorned with crystal hair ornaments. She wore some light makeup that accentuated her natural features well, along with a silver necklace. Her dress was purple of course, made of a silky fabric that flattered her figure. In comparison to the other girls she looked much more elegant to Inigo, and he had to pinch himself to remember to keep breathing.

“I can’t believe it,” he said as he took in her appearance. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you found a way to be here tonight. I didn’t think it was possible.”

“I’m here,” she said softly. She offered him her hand, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Care to dance?”

Inigo matched her smile with one of his own and took her hand. “I’d love to.”

She led him to the center of the room where couples had begun to slow dance. He wondered if people would notice that Inigo was suddenly accompanied by a beautiful woman, but hardly anyone turned to stare. Robin laid one hand on his shoulder before gently guiding his hands to her waist. And then they started to dance.

Inigo was careful not to step on her toes, feeling way too nervous just because she was so close to him and he was touching her and they were dancing and it was happening all at once. The real thing was so much better than his dreams, and he was determined not to ruin things by making a fool of himself.

“Don’t worry,” she said reassuringly. “You’re doing fine.”

“You could tell I was nervous?” He asked, still concentrating on his feet.

Inigo looked up to see her grin a little. “You’re really tense,” she said. “Loosen up a little. It’s just me.”

“I’m nervous because it’s you,” he countered. “Didn’t I say something similar before?”

“You might have,” she hummed. “But you should have a little more faith in yourself. I’m not the dancing expert. And I’m just as nervous as you are, you know.”

Inigo pulled her closer to him in response. “Any better?”

He winked and she rolled her eyes. “What a charmer. I guess old habits die hard.”

At that, he laughed. “Only around you, Robin.”

He noticed how she dropped her gaze at his words. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Just thinking,” she said. “About me and you. There’s a lot I haven’t told you yet that I wanted to tell you earlier.”

“Better late than never, right?” He said. “So what’s bothering you?”

She looked up at him gratefully. “You know, at first I was afraid to like you,” she said as they continued to dance. “I won’t lie – it is because of our age difference. I thought about how young you are and how there’s still so much time for you to meet new people in the future. You’d have plenty of dating opportunities after high school out there in the real world, so I…”

She bit her lip and looked away. “I thought it was selfish of me to keep you from having that chance.”

He considered that. “I guess we’re both pretty insecure, huh?”

She nodded. “I was also afraid that you’d change your mind about me,” she confessed. “Even though our feelings are the same, things could change tomorrow. That’s true for any relationship, but with you I was too afraid to take that risk.”

“Why’s that?” He asked. “You’ve dated before, right? I remember you had a picture of you with your friends and…”

“I have,” she nodded. “But I was afraid because I didn’t want to lose you. I didn’t want to get attached because I knew it would hurt too much if we had to say goodbye.”

Her words were raw and true, and he saw the same kind of vulnerability in her that he saw in himself. “I felt the same about you,” he admitted. “You’re older and beautiful and, well, I’m sure you’d rather date people your own age, not some high school kid. Also, now that I think about it, that’s probably illegal.”

She laughed, and he joined in. “That’s part of it,” she murmured.

“I always felt like I was never good enough for you. That I could never measure up. That no matter how much older I got, you’d keep aging just the same. But…”

Inigo moved closer so their foreheads were touching. Her eyes seemed to shine even in the dark. “You’re the one I want, Robin. Here, in this moment, right now, it’s you. It’s always been you.”

He was so focused on looking into her eyes that he didn’t realize what was happening until her palm was resting against his cheek, her eyes were closed, and suddenly her lips were on his.

The kiss was clumsy at best. Inigo’s first thought was that kissing was nothing like the movies made it out to be. It was his first one, and he was painfully aware of how awkward the whole thing must be. But Robin’s lips were soft and moved gently against his, and Inigo slowly started to match her movements.

They parted after a few seconds. A silence settled over them until Inigo said, “Wow.”

“I love you, Inigo,” she said a little breathlessly. “And it’s about time I was honest and told you that.”

Inigo was still trying to process the fact that she had just kissed him, that he had kissed her back, that they had kissed. It was a lot to take in, and before he could properly respond to her confession he heard a few people clapping and whistling at them. He turned to see his friends grinning nearby along with a few other people, at which he blushed furiously

“C-come on, stop staring!” He said in an aggravated tone.

Robin laughed. “Come on,” she said, taking his hand and leading him away from the others.

“Wait, about what you said –”

“I meant it.” She looked at him with the same intensity as the night she’d promised to wait for him, and said, “And I’ll say it as many times as you want. I love you, Inigo.”

His blush only increased at her words. “It feels different hearing it than being the one to say it,” he admitted. “But even though it’s embarrassing, it makes me happy to know that you… love me too.”

“I was planning on telling you after you turned eighteen, but sometimes plans fall through,” she said with a mischievous grin. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long.”

“It’s been ten years,” he agreed. “But they say the best things in life can’t be rushed. And you’re more than worth it to me, Robin.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “So, was I your first kiss?”

“Yup,” he said. “As you can tell, I’m not quite used to this yet.”

“Guess we’ll just have to keep practicing then,” she said with a wink. “Starting now.”

She leaned forward, and Inigo smiled into the kiss. After years of unsuccessfully chasing girls, it turned out that the place to find the one beautiful girl of his dreams was just an old park bench.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Park Benches comes to an end! It’s been a long road to get here, thank you all for your support. It was so nice to see people visiting my story and leaving kudos throughout this long journey. And of course, to everyone that kindly left such wonderful comments, thank you so, so much. They mean more to me than words can possibly say.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


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